Teenage girls survival bible review

The Teenage Girls Survival Bible – book review

In the summer I managed to get together with my brother and my sister and their children.  It was so lovely to see all the cousins together, getting on really well and just enjoying each other’s company.

What really struck me though is how old they’re all getting.  The older two suddenly seem so much more grown up, and it sort of hit me that they’re really not far off becoming teenagers.  I was chatting to my mum about it afterwards, about how hard those teenage years can be and how I wish there had been more information available when I was younger.

I think a lot of my knowledge about  typical teenage things like crushes, skin care and make up was pieced together from copies of Just 17, episodes of Heartbreak High and chats with my sister.  I would have loved to have a book that covered everything I could want or need to know to navigate those tricky years.

So when I was asked if I would like to review a copy of a book just like that I jumped at the chance, thinking if it was good I would be able to pass it on to my sister for her daughter.  Honestly though, now I’ve read it I’m almost tempted to keep it, it’s full of such good advice!

The book is called ‘The Teenage Girls Survival Bible‘ and is written by make-up artist Jane Bradley.

The teenage girls survival bible book review

 

The book covers pretty much every topic you can think of that might be helpful to teenage girls.

The first chapter is called ‘It’s all about survival’ and covers things from staying safe when you go out to advice on coping with panic attacks.  There is also a good amount of information in this chapter about alcohol, smoking and drugs.

It’s very real, and lists out all the dangers and harmful side effects, which will hopefully help girls to really think about whether it’s really worth experimenting with these things.

The other chapters in the book tackle a whole variety of things, all broken down into themes.

To give you an idea, here are some of the chapter titles and some of the things that are talked about in them:

It’s all about your body

  • Acne
  • Unwanted hair
  • Self-tanning
  • Hormones, periods and pregnancy

 

It’s all about love

  • Relationships
  • Heartbreak
  • Kissing and sex

 

It’s all about you

  • Self-esteem
  • Body image
  • Self-respect
  • Manners

The book also covers really helpful, practical things like washing and caring for your clothes, and a few basic recipes for cooking at home.

Sample pages from teenage girls survival bible

 

I really love the way this book is written.

It’s not patronising at all, and instead comes across as if it was written by your older sister who just wants to give you honest, real advice on life.

The text is broken up nicely so the information is there is bite-size chunks which makes it much easier to read and to find the information that you really want.  There are fun, vibrant illustrations throughout that have an almost 90s vibe which I love.  It actually reminds me of my old copies of Just 17 in a way!

There are quite a few quotes scattered through the book too, that help to break up the text even more and that I know I would’ve loved to read as a teenager, like:

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind.  Always”

 

This book is just what I would have wanted as a teenager, it’s fun, informative, and covers all sorts of things that I might have been embarrassed to ask my mum about.  If you have a teen or even a pre-teen in  your life then this book would make a really great gift, it’s the type of book that will be referred back to again and again.


You can get a copy of The Teenage Girls Survival Bible from Amazon.


Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the book for the purpose of this review but all words and opinions are my own.

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